A Vampire's Best Friend - A Skyrim Fanfiction
by AuburnTigerGirl
Summary: Ayleth Steelwing is a courageous Nord. She is an excellent hunter and acts on instinct. Most importantly, Ayleth's best friend is a Vampire. Read her story and embark on an adventure full of vampires, werewolves, wizards, felines, dragons and much more!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Garrison**

It was the day before I, my mom and dad were scheduled to move from our cozy home in Riverwood to Windhelm. I dreaded that day for so long because I had made many new friends, and even a best friend.

My best friend's name was Garrison. We had a lot in common. We both shared an interest in archery so we would occupy ourselves with the chore of making bows for the local blacksmith, Rowan.

Once we were old enough to get permission from our parents, we would go out into the nearby woods every day and hunt together. Hunting began to be something I looked forward to, and not because I loved what I was doing, but rather who I was doing it with. I grew up with him. I got to see him grow from a small, curly-haired farm boy to a young man who had an impeccable hunting ability.

As soon as I heard I was moving, I couldn't stop thinking about how much I would miss those big brown eyes of his that made me smile. I decided to make plans with Garrison the day before I had to move, and then break the news to him. On that day, we met at our favorite clearing in the woods. As garrison dropped to his feet from a tree branch, I eyed him closely, looking for just the right words.

"Garrison..there is something I need to tell you." I said slowly, trying to hold back my tears.

He looked at me, with those brown eyes, and I almost melted right there.

"Hello? Ayleth, are you there?" I heard him ask, as I returned back to reality.

I dared to look him into the eyes again and, without warning, I quickly spilled out the words I wanted to tell him for months.

"Im moving."

The look on his face will forever be burned to the back of my mind. His face was full of hurt and his eyes reddened almost instantly.

"Why? I thought your parents liked it here? There's no reason to-"

"I have to, Garrison. My Dad is going to be attending the Mage College soon, and he wants us to stay close. I'm so sorry!" I interrupted, crying out with my arms wrapped around him.

I buried my face into his chest and let my tears run down. He pulled me away and then both of our sorrow-filled eyes met. His lips met mine moments later, the taste of salty tears on our lips. It felt like time completely stopped and then warmth surged throughout my body. It felt so right. I wanted to tell him how I felt about him right then, but I was too shy. I should have though. He pushed me away and before I could stop him, he ran off, leaving me alone in the clearing.

I wrapped my arms around my legs and buried my face in between them, thinking about Garrison, that kiss, and moving. I had a lot on my mind and until my thoughts died down a little, I wasn't going back home. It wasn't any longer than twenty minutes when I heard a scream. It sounded like someone in pain. It took me a second to realize who it was. Garrison.

I ran towards the pathway that Garrison left on and continued to follow the sound, trusting that my ears would shortly lead me to him. When the pathway reached an end, I waited for another sound. After a few moments of silence, I scouted the area, making note of every detail I could. To the east was the river that led to Riverwood. Me and Garrison would hunt the mudcrabs and gather ninroot alongside the bank. Then the path following the river caught my eye. That was the path we took to get to the small clearing we used to set up a campfire on cold nights.

"Maybe he would have gone down there," I thought, as I ventured on the path.

I peeked around the column of rock that separated the path from the clearing and my heart sank. That was the first time I had seen a creature of the night and he was feasting on my best friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

**The Vampire's Curse**

I gasped at the sight and instinctively unsheathed my dagger. The vampire gazed up at me, his mouth open, teeth covered in crimson.

"Just what do you think you're going to do with that blade, lamb?" The creature hissed, an amused expression on its face. His voice sounded gruff.

I hesitated for a moment but then I made eye contact with him. "I am going to kill you."

The creature cackled and let go of Garrison. I watched his lifeless body fall to the ground. The noise of the impact sounded weightless. I gripped my dagger tighter, held it out in a striking position and dashed towards the vampire, anger surged through me. Something caught my wrist. I panicked as the sound of metal hitting ground reached my ears. I struggled for a bit but the pain in my wrist multiplied as I moved. I lifted my head up and sure enough, my eyes met crimson sorrow once more.

"Sweetie, you do know what I am, don't you?" A nasty grin appeared on his face.

"A monster." I narrowed my eyes and spit in his face.

"Ignorant child!" He yelled out as he pushed me down. I lost consciousness after my head hit the solid ground. When I opened my eyes, the creature had its foot on my throat, making it hard for me to breathe.

"Know your place, lamb. I am the Predator. You are Prey." His foot dug into my neck further as he spoke. I quickly moved my hands to his foot and tried to pry it off of me but it was futile, his strength surpassed mine, but I kept trying anyways.

"Divines, help me." I choked, moving my eyes to the sky. The stars began to fuse together as my vision blurred. Everything went black and I began to lose hope.

I opened my eyes and saw Garrison. He was carrying me, and he seemed to be running

. "Garrison." I mumbled, trying to regain consciousness. He slowed down to a walking pace and looked into my eyes. There was something different about him then, and I could feel it.

"Oh, look who's awake?" He smiled down at me, and then I forgot what I was thinking about and smiled back.

"I'll lay you down, you look a little pale." I could hear him crushing dried leaves under his feet. I chuckled. He was never good with being quiet. He doesn't want to admit it but he's scared away quite a few animals before.

He stopped and moments later I felt the ground against my back, my head arched up on a tree trunk.

"I need to talk to you." He said as he sat down in front of me and crossed his legs.

"What is it?" I ask, blushing because I thought he was going to say something about the kiss.

"Take a closer look at me."

I inched closer and stared at him, and then it caught my eye.

"It's your hair," I said, "There is a leaf in it."

He pulled me closer; his eyebrows were narrowing as if he was frustrated.

"Ayleth. Look into my eyes."

When the light caught his eyes, I noticed what was different.

"Ayleth, I'm a vampire."


	3. Chapter 3

This wasn't happening. My best friend was changed from human to vampire within a blink of an eye and it was all my fault. The truth of it weighed heavily on me.

"How?" I asked, shocked.

"The vampire was planning on making me his accomplice, someone he could boss around and do the dirty work for him. So he gave me this curse so I could be one of_ them._" He curled his lip. Garrison hated vampires almost as much as I did, which made it all the more harder to fully grasp the fact that he was now one of them.

"How did you know that? Can you read minds?" I asked, hoping he couldn't, because if he could, I'd have to smack him across the face for not telling me sooner.

He laughed, and that smile that I loved so much was there again. "No, silly. Here, take a look at this." He took out a small, brown book from his pants pocket and tossed it on the ground between us. "This was his journal. He musta been lonely, he wrote quite a bit." Garrison flipped through the pages until he came across one with detailed sketches of a boy with curly hair, fangs peeking out of his mouth, and dressed in odd-looking armor that resembled what the creature wore. The boy looked just like Garrison.

"Is that-"

"yes, that's me. Creepy, ain't it?" He interrupted, placing his finger on the first word on the page. "Listen. It says, today I have found a lamb who might possibly be worthy of serving me. I first saw him on the way to my evening feast. He was hunting in the woods, his bow was drawn in position to kill. Moments later, he did something rather peculiar. He looked right at me. Never have I been spotted by any mortal. It felt _exhilarating._ I cloaked myself and fled, wondering about that boy and his potential. I saw him again that night, as I was looking for him. The boy was talking to the blacksmith of the town, a bulky mortal, that one. I drew the boy and what he would look like as my apprentice. I liked what I saw. Tomorrow I am going to make him mine."

I couldn't believe that there was a vampire stalking Garrison. It didn't seem real. None of it seemed real. I wished everything was a dream and that me and Garrison could continue hunting together without a care in the world, but I knew that wouldn't happen. At that moment, I knew that nothing would ever be the same as it was before.

"That sure is creepy, persistent little things, aren't they?" I put on a fake smile, hoping to lighten up the mood. "How did you kill the vampire?"

I noticed he started to pluck blades of grass as he spoke. "Well, after you broke the news to me, which was very sudden and unexpected," He moved his eyes to me.

"I didn't think you were going to run off!" I retaliated, feeling a bit more than guilty. I should have told him sooner.

He shook his head. "Anyways, I went back to our old campfire spot for some space. I needed to be alone. That's when the vampire made his appearance. He had his teeth to my neck so fast that I didn't have time to react." He touched his neck lightly. "I couldn't even feel his teeth sink into my skin. It's like I was numb. I started to feel dizzy. It all happened so fast. The next thing I saw was that _thing_ with his foot to your neck, holding you to the ground. I looked for a weapon I could use against him so I could save you. Thankfully, your dagger happened to be on the ground." He smirked, pulling out my dagger from his boot.

"I snuck up behind him and stabbed him through his chest." He said, making a stabbing motion. "Then I grabbed you and ran as fast as I could. Fortunately, my hunger for blood hasn't set in yet since I just made the change. But it will soon. I need to get you home."

"No!" I yelled, lifting myself up. "I am not leaving you." I couldn't say goodbye to my best friend and there was no way I was going to move all the way to Winterhold knowing that my best friend was a vampire because of me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked me dead in the eye.

"You will die if you stay with me."

"That," my voice grew deep, "is a risk worth taking."


	4. Chapter 4

The wind blew violently, a warning of an upcoming storm. Ayleth always had a way to get what she wanted. I never could say no to those bright blue eyes of hers. Her life was at risk, and even then I couldn't say no. I told her she would die if she stayed with me, but she didn't seem to care. She seemed to think that I was worth the risk of her losing her life. I started to wonder what I meant to her. For the first time in my life, I felt important.

It was time to be a man, though. She needed me more than ever now, to direct her away from this mess that could very well cost her life. I took a deep breath, squeezed her shoulders tighter, and challenged those blue eyes once again.

"Ayleth, I-"

Her soft lips met mine once more and everything around us seemed to disappear. It was only me and her. She pulled away, leaving me mesmerized. She looked so beautiful then, her long blonde hair blowing in the wind, her eyes moving from my lips to my eyes.

"What was it you were going to say?" She smirked, a hint of fake innocence on her face.

"I want you to stay with me." I gave in. I didn't want to say goodbye to those kisses. I wasn't ready to leave her.

She hugged me tightly and we sat there, embracing each other. When she pulled away, I could see tears building up in her eyes, threatening to betray them.

"Please don't cry," I wiped her tears away with my sleeve. "I'm never going to leave you."

She smiled a real genuine smile. I knew she was happy to hear those words.

"Is there a cure for this curse?" Ayleth asked.

"Well, I've heard a few traders in Riverwood talking about a man in Morthal. He supposedly does rituals to extract the curse."

Ayleth jumped to her feet and helped me off of mine. "You need armor first. Just because you're immortal doesn't mean you don't need protection." She winked.

"Now that's the Ayleth I know."


	5. Chapter 5

We went back to the place where we encountered the vampire so that Garrison could use his armor, but he wasn't there.

"I thought you said you killed him!" I yelled at Garrison.

"I said I stabbed him," he lowered his gaze, "I thought I killed him."

I paced back and forth, kicking rocks that were in my way.

"Calm down!" He yelled. He clearly didn't know what danger we were both in.

"Don't tell me to calm down, there is a vampire on the loose!" My hands tightened into fists.

"A wounded vampire." He added.

There were times when Garrison would get on my nerves, so much that I would seriously consider punching him in the face. Now was one of those times. I turned around to face him so I could imagine myself strangling the life out of him.

"Ayleth. Please." He looked at my apologetically.

I sighed heavily. "What should we do then? Neither one of us can go back to Riverwood. Hell, my family will be sending everyone in the village to look for me. And soon enough, you'll complete the change and you will need blood and we'll have to avoid the sun as much as possible. On top of all of this, there is a vampire-"

"A wounded vampire."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. There is a wounded vampire on the loose. You don't think he's just going to forgive and forget, do ya? He's going to come back for us, Garrison! This is serious!"

He gave me this deadpan look that told me that he wasn't taking this seriously at all. He never really took anything seriously, ever, except for his hunting which even then he still made jokes about the animals he killed and how he did it. I thought back to when he saved me from the vampire and when he told me I had to go home. He actually seemed serious when he said those things. Maybe my life was the only thing he would take seriously. I smiled because that gave me an idea.

I grabbed my dagger out of my boot and held it to my neck, slicing the first few layers of skin. It stung a bit, but his reaction was well worth it. He grabbed the dagger from my hands and threw it to the ground, the point sticking to it.

"What were you thinking, Ayleth? Why did you do that?" He yelled, his voice thick.

"You weren't taking anything seriously. Why should I?" I shrugged.

"Alright, you made your point. Clean yourself up now." He muttered, shielding his eyes and holding his nose.

"You don't like my attitude, do you?" I asked, making my way down to the river.

"Oh, and I'm washing it off so quit holding your nose and covering your eyes, weirdo."I laughed, washing the blood off with the fresh water from the river.  
I heard no response.

"Garrison? Did I push your buttons a little too much?" I chuckled, watching the red water leave my neck.

No response, again.

I turned around and saw the vampire from before behind Garrison, one hand covering his mouth and the other holding my dagger to Garrison's neck. The vampire smiled, exposing his red fangs.

"We meet again, Lamb."


End file.
